assist: an assist is a point that is given to a player when he/she passed the puck to the person who scored a goal. There can be at most 2 assists given when a goal is scored. These assists are given to the last 2 players who touched the puck before the person scored a goal.

blocker: goaltender's glove that is shaped like a rectangle. This glove is worn on the hand that holds the hockey stick. (See equipment section in The game of hockey article)

boards: The white half-walls that limit the play area. Usually constructed with plastic.

bodycheck: When a player hits another player with his body (usually shoulder) during play.

breakaway: when a player is skating with the puck alone against the goaltender. i.e. the player has skated behind the opposing defensemen and there is no opposing player between him/her and the opposing goaltender.

cherry picker: Name given mockingly to a player who is waiting near the offensive zone when the puck is in his defensive zone. The player is not contributing defensively while attempting to gain an advantage offensively.

crease: the crease is the blue (or other colour) painted area directly in from of the net. This area is a kind of "safe haven" for the goaltenders. If they are it by a player from the opposing team while in that area, that player receives a goalie interference penalty. The crease also helps the goaltenders to position themselves when facing a shot.

cross-over: Crossing the outside leg over the inside leg when executing a turn, enabling the player to accelerate while turning. (When skating backwards the inside leg crosses under the outside leg)

glass: The upper portion of the limit to the play surface which is composed of glass or plexiglass.

goal: a goal is a point for a team in hockey. The team with the most goals (or points) wins the game. A goal is scored by putting the puck into the net. A point is given to the player who scores a goal.

goal line: the thin red line in the end of each zone. The net's posts are sitting on this line and the puck has to completely pass this line in order for a goal to be score.

goaltender, goalie, netminder: player who's job is to prevent the puck from entering the net

hash mark: the hash marks are marks on the face-off circles in both the offensive and defensive zones (there are no hash marks on the face-off circle in the neutral zone). They are used mainly for the positioning of wingers when the puck is dropped during a face-off. During a face-off, the players from each team must be on the correct side of the hash marks. The space in the middle of the has mark is "neutral" therefore no player should be in that area. A face-off infraction can be called if the player of one team is in the "neutral" space of the hash mark.

hat trick: The feat of scoring three goals in a single game. Traditionally followed by one dropping their hat on the ice and skating around it. During NHL games, some fans throw their hats on the ice surface after a player has scored a hat trick.

linesman: another neutral person on the ice, this one calls icing and offsides and drops the puck for most of the face-offs (except after a goal). In some minor/amateur leagues, the linesmen act as both referee and linesmen.

overtime, extra-frame: when the score is tied after 3 periods of play overtime is sometimes played. In hockey overtime is considered "sudden death". This means that the first goal scored ends the game and the team that scored is declared the winner. A period in overtime (similar to a period in the game) is sometimes referred as an "extra-frame".

penalty: a penalty is when a player commits an infraction. (see Penalties article) It results in the player committing the infraction spending a definite amount of time in the penalty box.

penalty box: secluded area away from the players bench where the penalized player sits when he/she has committed an infraction.

penalty shot: when a player is on a breakaway and is tripped or if an infraction is done to the player on a breakaway, the referee can either call a penalty or a penalty shot. When there is a penalty shot, the players from each team go back to their respective bench and the player that had the breakaway goes to centre ice. The referee puts the puck on the centre ice dot and then goes and places him/herself on the goal line. The referee then whistles and the player at centre ice has a free shot to score on the goaltender. The player cannot shoot more than once and cannot take his rebound. He/she must also move towards the net/end of the zone at all times.

player's bench: sitting area outside of the rink where the players and coaches sit/stand when they are not playing/on the ice.

puck: cylindrical piece of hardened rubber that is used to play hockey. It is this piece of hardened rubber that has to go into the net to score a goal. (See equipment section in The game of hockey article)

shoot-out: in the NHL regular season as well as some other leagues, after a period of overtime has been played and no team has scored, a shoot-out is needed. A shoot-out is done the same way as a penalty shot except that players from each team alternate shooting on the opposing goaltender. Usually 3 players from each team each take turns to shoot on the opposing goalie. To win a shoot-out, the players from a team must outscore the players from the other team. If after 3 players of each team have had their turn and the score is still equal, then there is a "sudden death" shoot-out. The sudden death shoot-out consists of a player from each team shooting on the opposing goaltender. If the score is still tied after those players have shot, another pair of players have their turn. This is done until one team scores and the other fails to score on the same pair of shooters.

slot: area directly in front of the net between the hash marks of both face-off circles

stick-handling: when a player carries the puck and "dribbles" with the puck (i.e.moves the puck from his/her forehand to his/her backhand and back again). Someone is said to have good stick-handling when he/she has a high dexterity at controlling the puck.

zamboni: machine that sweeps and resurfaces the ice. It scrapes the ice and then puts water on it. Resurfacing the ice is done between periods in the NHL, International Hockey and most competitive leagues. For amateur leagues, it is done only between games.

Penalties

There are a lot of different infractions that can be called during a hockey game. These infractions are called penalties and usually end up with the player going to the penalty box for a finite amount of time. This amount of time depends on the nature of the infraction as well as the league in which you play.

There are 2 types of penalties, minor and major. For a minor penalty, the time passed in the penalty box is 2 minutes (3 minutes running time). As for a major infraction, it usually results in a 5 minute penalty (7 for running time) and often times a suspension of one game, depending on the infraction committed.

A third options exists in some cases: the penalty shot. A penalty shot is called when a player would have a clear chance for a breakaway (alone against the goaltender) but is obstructed from doing so by another player. The puck is then placed at center ice, the obstructed player takes the puck and attempts to score on the goaltender. Meanwhile, all other players must be at their bench and cannot interfere with the penalty shot. Once the penalty shot is over, play resumes via a faceoff at center ice, if the player scored, or by a faceoff beside the goaltender if the penalty shot was unsuccessful.

Delay of game: a player/coach purposely delaying the resuming of the game. In the NHL, whenever a player shoots the puck over the glass in his/her defensive zone, without the puck either being redirected or touching the glass, a delay of game penalty is assessed to that player.

Face-off violation: when the linesman/referee decides that the players on the ice for one of the team are not acting properly (e.g. the wingers are not positioned properly), he/she will remove the player taking the face-off and another player on the ice will take his/her place. If this happens twice for the same team on the same face-off, a penalty is called for face-off violation.

Falling on(or holding) the puck: a player deliberately falling on/holding the puck to prevent players from the opposing team to touch it. The player can fall on the puck accidentally, but he/she has to try to get him/herself up without too much of a delay. A player can also swat the puck with his/her gloves in the defensive zone, but he/she cannot close his/her hand on it.

High stick: hitting a player of the opposing team above his/her elbows with your stick.

Hit to the head: hitting an opponent in the head is now considered an infraction in th eNHL. The referee can decide if the hit deserves a minor or major penalty. Furthermore, the league may decide to suspend the player for an amount of games depending on the severity of the hit and that player's past history.

Hitting from behind: body checking an opponent when his/her back is towards you.

Holding: using your arms or any other part of your body to hold an opponent and restrain him/her from playing the game.

Holding the stick: holding the stick of your opponent using a part of your body.

Hooking: using your stick to "hook" or to impede the movement of a player from the opposing team.

Butt-ending: using the tip of hockey stick closest to the upper hand to hit/jab an opponent.

Fighting: removing your gloves and fighting with a player of the opposing team.

Leaving the (player/penalty) bench: when a player exits either the player bench or penalty bench to go and fight. Even if the player leaving one of the benches does not fight, exiting the bench when a fight occurs is considered a penalty.

Spearing: using your hockey stick to spear/thrust into the other players body.